Mass COVID-19 vaccination begins for Windsor-Essex adults ages 40+

Article content

Adults in Windsor-Essex ages 40 and older are now eligible for appointments at the region’s mass COVID-19 vaccination sites.

While members of the public in that age category have been able to receive COVID-19 vaccine at pharmacies and pop-up clinics, Monday marked the first day they were able to use the health unit’s booking site, www.wevax.ca.

“We’ve had really good coverage in the other age groups, so we’re able to move down (to the 40+ category) confidently,” said health unit CEO and chief nursing officer Theresa Marentette.

Vaccine eligibility also continues for those 18 years and older who reside in an identified “hot spot” (postal codes beginning with N8X, N8Y, N9A, N9B, N9C, N8H, or N9Y).

However, the provincial government’s plan to expand vaccine eligibility on Tuesday to all “Group 2” essential workers (such as grocery store, food service, and transportation workers) may not coincide with local availability.

Article content

“It’s not a guarantee that we will open it up for (Tuesday),” said Dr. Wajid Ahmed, the region’s Medical Officer of Health.

“Our rollout is based on our local priority and the local situation that we are dealing with. We try to align ourselves as best as possible with the province. (But) there are some differences, all based on the supply.”

Ahmed was not able on Monday morning to give a definite date when local “Group 2” essential workers of all ages will be eligible for vaccination. “It will happen as soon as possible.”

Ahmed acknowledged the differing announcements of the province and the region have been confusing for the public. He advised Windsor-Essex residents to always look first at local information (via www.wechu.org).

Meanwhile, Marentette noted there’s been significant progress in the initiative to vaccinate temporary foreign workers in Essex County.

The mass vaccination site at the Nature Fresh Farms Recreation Centre in Leamington has been visited by 4,768 workers from 132 farm workplaces since April 18.

Marentette thanked farm owners and community partners in the agri-food taskforce for their help in translating and distributing COVID-19 vaccine information to the region’s temporary foreign workers.

Article content

As of Monday, 190,878 doses of COVID-19 vaccine have been administered to Windsor-Essex residents.

An estimated 52 per cent of all Windsor-Essex adults have received at least one dose.

Article content

In other regional data, new local cases of the novel coronavirus continued to trend downward, with the health unit reporting daily increases of 37 on Saturday, 47 on Sunday, and 38 on Monday.

Three more local COVID-19 deaths were reported over the weekend: The passing of two elderly women (one more than 100 years old and the other in her 90s) were announced on Saturday, and the passing of an man in his 80s was announced on Monday.

All three of the deceased were described as residents of the community.

To date, 417 people in Windsor-Essex have died due to COVID-19.

As of Monday, there are 22 patients with COVID-19 in local hospitals, with three of those patients in the intensive care unit.

There are currently 367 active COVID-19 cases in the region. 173 of those cases involve a “variant of concern” of SARS-CoV-2 — the virus that causes COVID-19.

Approximately 92 per cent of local variant cases have involved in the variant first identified in the United Kingdom. There have been only four cases of the Brazilian variant in Windsor-Essex, and only three cases of the South African variant.

The region has had 15,837 confirmed cases since the start of the pandemic.

Article content

Windsor Regional Hospital announced on Monday that their Met Campus COVID-19 assessment centre (1995 Lens Ave.) will remain open this week for those who wish to be tested.

Weekday hours at the location are 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.

The Ouellette Campus COVID-19 assessment centre (1030 Ouellette Ave.) will continue its hours of operation: seven days a week, 8 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Testing volumes have been low, but WRH has been deciding on a week-by-week basis whether or not to have two assessment centres running. The reasoning is that more testing opportunities — especially for symptomatic people — will provide a better picture of the circulation of COVID-19 variants in the community.

Those seeking testing are required to book an appointment online via https://www.wrh.on.ca/OnlineBooking. Your health card will be needed for the process.